As a kid who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s reading science fiction novels, I don’t think I ever really thought I’d see something like this in my lifetime. Oh, sure, I believed it would happen eventually, just not this soon.
When I was a teenager a robot meant there was a very thin guy in a suit, like C-3PO (or the killer robot in Saturn 3). Or maybe an animated model like the ones in Disney’s Black Hole. Real robots were limited to pretty basic functions of, say, R2-D2 moving on wheels and turning his head. As someone who grew up way back then I find myself looking for matte lines or maybe a stray hair sticking out somewhere. It seems like something that ought to be fake.
It’s time for Atlas to pick up a new set of skills and get hands on. pic.twitter.com/osOWiiBlSh
— Boston Dynamics (@BostonDynamics) January 18, 2023
Allahpundit used to post these at the end of a long day and inevitably referred to them as “freaky-deaky.” I think that pretty much nails it. The machine still looks a bit bulky and not quite ideally proportioned in some ways. It looks like it ought to be top heavy but the movements, especially that one at the end, are spectacular. The way it gets rid of the extra energy by doing a little hop just like a gymnast is so human it’s eerie.
This was all carefully pre-scripted. The steps were set up just so and that handy board was placed in such a way that the robot didn’t have to lift it off the ground. Each element of this had to be tested in software before trying it in the real world. And everything didn’t work flawlessly the first time. So, okay, this thing isn’t ready to replace Jackie Chan anytime soon. But as I was saying a moment ago, the future comes around a lot sooner than you think it will. Disney is already using robotic acrobats for stunts that are too dangerous for people.
Anyway, here’s Boston Dynamics’ companion video which explains how they created the clip above and some of the work that went into making it look so easy.
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